The NBA In-Season Tournament champion of 2023 and NBA All-Star D’Angelo Russell is one of the names in which the teams are showing less interest since the NBA trade deadline is coming.
According to Lakers Daily via Jake Fischer, he shared, “And if you do wanna look at potential trade scenarios, the strategy of re-signing D’Angelo Russell to a theoretical, tradable salary at $20 million, I’m not seeing — and not hearing from my calls around the league — a ton of interest in that trade chip coming back.”
“I don’t really know what the Lakers are gonna be able to do to upgrade this team if they’re not sending Austin Reaves out the door, which of course they don’t wanna do that.”
The Lakers are steadily approaching the conclusion of the trade and it is still not known which step the Lakers will be moving forward with. However, it is also being indicated that Russell might not be an attention-grabbing prospect for the squad.
According to the report, Russell currently might not be garnering consideration among multiple teams in the NBA. One of the main reasons for this is due to his inconsistency during this season. Last season, Russell had a successful journey with the Lakers squad, as the team went to the playoffs and reached the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers offered Russell a two-year contract extension in the offseason of 2023 and his average during that period was 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game. His average was recorded from the seventeen games he played with the Lakers last season.
Russell is now in his fourth season with the squad and his average is 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. His shooting percentage is 46.6 per cent from the floor.
Russell also suffered a tailbone injury in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which was a loss for the Lakers. Due to the injury, he has missed three games as well. He also gave one of the best performances against the Timberwolves in one of the matches.
Without Russell, the Lakers had lost their games against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Miami Heat, and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers are currently standing tenth in the Western Conference and have recently defeated the Los Angeles Clippers.
